Baseball Mom Strikes Out

You could say I’m a freshman mom when it comes to select baseball. This is my 10-year-old son’s first year on the team. We’re excited, but I’m still learning how to “get in the game.”

Here’s what happened to me on Wednesday. If your kids are busy with activities, this will probably give you a chuckle. But at the time, it left me feeling like an incompetent mother.

It’s been a cold and rainy week here in Lincoln. Not great spring weather. And Wednesday night it was downright nasty.

Because of the weather, Jacob’s baseball team was having batting practice indoors.

My husband and I anchor the 4:00 p.m. show on 10/11, so it can be hectic leaving work, picking the kids up from school and then getting them to after school activities on time.

But this Wednesday’s practice time was very doable…7:00 p.m. Jon was on assignment in Cozad (about three hours away) for most of the day. So, it was up to me to pick up the kids and get dinner on the table.

We got home just before 6:00. This gave me a ½ hour to eat and drive Jacob the 15-20 minutes to the practice location.

First strike… I chose to make waffles, and my Bisquick was about empty…and had expired. So, I tried a new recipe from Alison Bickel (one of our Moms Everyday bloggers). The whole wheat waffles turned out great, but we didn’t have time to linger. We were out the door and driving in the cold rain to practice.

Second strike… I didn’t really know where I was going. My mistake. I should have contacted the coach to get the exact directions. All I knew was that it was at 8th and Pioneers and behind Cheer Express.

We found Cheer Express OK, and all ran in to get directions. They said it’s just around the corner.

So we walked the length of the building looking in each window, but just saw girls in leotards working on cheer techniques.

Back we went, to ask again. And this time they told me to drive to the location around the corner.

We hopped in the car and drove around the building. Now it’s 7:10… so much for being on time. And all I saw are white doors on the back of this warehouse.

Third strike… I panicked. For some strange reason, I started driving haphazardly around the industrial park getting myself more confused. And to make matters worse, I sent texts to the coach telling him that basically I’m lost and that Jacob will be late.

Thank goodness for the GPS on my phone. We’re back where we started, this time at 7:25. My son ran back into Cheer Express for a third time.

Turns out the practice location *WAS* in the same building and behind Cheer Express. We drove there, and I told Jacob to just start opening white doors.

We’re playing “Let’s Make a Deal” just hoping to find the right door.

Bingo! There’s a piece of paper taped by one of the doors that said “To reserve practice time…”

I glanced to my right and saw two cars, one of which had the coach’s last name on a window cling.

We finally made it, but boy did I drop the ball. I was feeling pretty low…just a blundering fool, driving in a maze in a cold April rain.

And then it started snowing. But Jacob came out of practice, a smile on his face.

“It’s OK Mom,” Jacob told me. “I didn’t know where it was either. And I didn’t miss anything at practice.”

That’s my boy. He knows how to get me to base even when I drop the ball.

I'm working on my swing, and hoping to improve my average as the season goes along.

I’d like to hear how you handle kids’ activities.

Happy Parenting!

Taryn

Taryn Vanderford loves being a mom to her two elementary-aged kids, Jacob and Olivia. Activities with the kids and a full-time job keep Taryn pretty busy, but in her free time she enjoys taking pictures, reading, Jazzercising, gardening, traveling and playing the piano for church.

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